i Corinthians 15:56-57

Rest in God’s loving arms my sonny one!

“O  Death, where is your sting?

O Hades, where is your victory?”

Christ obtained victory over sin and death. Faithlife Bible.

1 Corinthians 15:56–57 (NKJV)

⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 3:20 (NKJV)

²⁰ Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Romans 8:37 (NKJV)

³⁷ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

Luke 11:28

Our triune God hates legalism and the hypocrisy that comes with it! 

For Christians to expect others to do as they say and not as they do…sheer craziness. We need to be doers not just hearers and then we might attract others to JESUS. Isn’t that why we are enlightened to begin with? We need to be authentic and transparent to be able to be used by GOD for His work. the HOLY SPIRIT cannot transform  a double sided person. We need to study and live out our faith in our ordinary everyday, lives to be able to be able to finish the job He prepared beforehand for us to walk in. We are empowered when we let go of our agenda and get on god’s.

The letter of the law kills but… Jesus within offers an abundant life.

True blessedness, according to Jesus, is found in obedience to God’s revelation. Faithlife Bible.

It is easy to allow traditional practices to take the place of the authority of the Scriptures. Jesus offers His blessing to those who respond concretely to God’s will as expressed in the Bible. NKJ Bible.

Luke 11:28 (NKJV)

²⁸ But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

James 1:25 (NKJV)

²⁵ But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

1 Corinthians 1:2-3

We are sanctified, precept by precept, by the Holy Spirit. We are called according to God’s purpose not our own and empowered so that we can carry them out in His name. Jesus came to earth armed with His power to overcome death and sin and in Him we find our peace. His peace surpasses our understanding but in our deepest trials it carries us through them.

The Greek word for church used here, ekklēsia, refers to a gathering of people, not a building; here, it references the gathering of Christ followers in Corinth. Faithlife Bible.

A local church of God is a group of people who identify themselves with God and gather together to worship and serve Him. The Corinthians’ holiness came from their position in Christ, not from their own goodness. The tense of the verb sanctified indicates that God had sanctified the Corinthians at a specific time in the past, producing a condition that they still enjoyed in the present. The work of Jesus Christ makes a believer holy forever in God’s eyes. But in everyday living, sanctification involves small, daily changes. This is why Paul could call the Corinthian believers to become saints, even though the problems in their church testified that they were far from the goal of holiness.NKJ Bible.

1 Corinthians 1:2–3 (NKJV)

² To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

³ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 3:22 (NKJV)

²² even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;

1 Corinthians 8:6 (NKJV)

⁶ yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.

Ephesians 4:1 (NKJV)

4 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,

Matthew 2:16 and King Herod

We cannot trust anyone in power without weighing it by the Word of God in Scripture…and the insight of the holy spirit. in these times we need to listen very, very closely to him!

The religious right can be dangerously wrong!

Uncontrolled ambition can turn a person into a monster. God helps us keep things in the proper perspective when we focus on him above all else.

Matthew 2:16–18 (NKJV)

¹⁶ Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. 

Herod was the King of the Jews at the time of Jesus’s birth. The head of the religious right. GOD can allow people to rise in power to show HIS strength and our necessary dependence upon HIM to survive in times of chaos and destruction. 

Herod was a brutal man who killed his father-in-law, several of his ten wives, and two of his sons. He ignored the laws of God to suit himself and chose the favor of Rome over his own people. Herod's heavy taxes to pay for lavish projects forced an unfair burden on the Jewish citizens.

Herod strengthened Israel's position in the ancient world by increasing its commerce and turning it into a trading hub for Arabia and the East. His massive building program included theaters, amphitheaters, a port, markets, temples, housing, palaces, walls around Jerusalem, and aqueducts. He kept order in Israel but by using secret police and tyrannical rule.

Herod worked well with Israel's Roman conquerors. He knew how to get things done and was a skilled politician.

But:

He was a brutal man who killed his father-in-law, several of his ten wives, and two of his sons. He ignored the laws of God to suit himself and chose the favor of Rome over his own people. Herod's heavy taxes to pay for lavish projects forced an unfair burden on the Jewish citizens.

Although he ruled over the Jews in Israel in the time before Christ, Herod the Great was not completely Jewish. He was born in 73 B.C. to an Idumean man named Antipater and a woman named Cyprus, who was the daughter of an Arab sheik.

King Herod was a schemer who took advantage of Roman political unrest to claw his way to the top.

During a civil war in the Empire, Herod won the favor of Octavian, who later became the Roman emperor Augustus Caesar. Once he was king, Herod launched an ambitious building program, both in Jerusalem and the spectacular port city of Caesarea, named after the emperor. He restored the magnificent Jerusalem temple, which was later destroyed by the Romans following a rebellion in A.D. 70.

In the Gospel of Matthew, the Wise Men met King Herod on their way to worship Jesus. He tried to trick them into revealing the child's location in Bethlehem on their way home, but they were warned in a dream to avoid Herod, so they returned to their countries by another route.

Jesus' stepfather, Joseph, was also warned in a dream by an angel, who told him to take Mary and their son and flee to Egypt, to escape Herod. When Herod learned he had been outwitted by the Magi, he became furious, ordering the slaughter of all the boys who were two years old and under in Bethlehem and its vicinity.

Joseph did not return to Israel until Herod had died. The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus reported that Herod the Great died of a painful and debilitating disease that caused breathing problems, convulsions, rotting of his body, and worms. Herod reigned 37 years. His kingdom was divided by the Romans among his three sons.

One of them, Herod Antipas, was one of the conspirators in the trial and execution of Jesus.

For by grace you have been saved through faith...

Only in the grace of God do I breathe.

God’s great love for His creation, mankind, brought forth the light of this world in human flesh…Jesus Christ. In Him and through we live now and for eternity. 

Praise Him who died in our place so that we could live!

The Greek word used here for faith , pistis, can refer to belief, trust, faith, or loyalty (faithfulness). People cannot accomplish salvation through their own effort. Faithlife Bible.

Salvation never originates in the efforts of people; it always arises out of the lovingkindness of God. We cannot do anything to earn our salvation. Some suggest that the gift of God modifies the word faith in this verse. Thus Paul is saying that even our belief in God does not originate in ourselves. This too is a gift. Because the sign of the Abrahamic covenant was circumcision, the Jews proudly referred to themselves as the Circumcision. Somewhat less kindly, they called Gentiles the Uncircumcision. NKJ Bible.

Ephesians 2:8–10 (NKJV)

⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Romans 4:16 (NKJV)

¹⁶ Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all

Isaiah 19:25 (NKJV)

²⁵ whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”

Romans 3:27 (NKJV)

²⁷ Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith.

Jeremiah 47:6-7

If the Lord is not in it…it will not stand! 

He can use whomever He chooses to punish the sins of a nation. He always has the final word.

Pray for the world!

Ashkelon was an ancient Canaanite city-state on the Mediterranean coast. Joshua 13:3 lists it as one of the five cities of the Philistines, and it was captured by Judah during the conquest (Judges 1:18). Ashkelon also is mentioned in the story of Samson (Judges 14:19). Most likely, the Canaanite city was settled by the Philistines after the Sea Peoples failed to conquer Egypt around 1190 bc. Ashkelon was a strategic port—a logical place for Egypt to station enemies-turned-mercenaries who had invaded by sea. Ashkelon did not yield to Babylonian rule after the Battle of Carchemish, so Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the city in 604 bc. It was rebuilt into a thriving port in the Persian period and continued to be an important regional city until 1270 ad. Faithlife Bible.

The image of the sword of the Lord is often used to portray divine judgment. The judgment had long been withheld; the long-suffering of the Lord had reached its end. NKJ Bible.

Jeremiah 47:6–7 (NKJV)

⁶ “O you sword of the Lord,

How long until you are quiet?

Put yourself up into your scabbard,

Rest and be still!

⁷ How can it be quiet,

Seeing the Lord has given it a charge

Against Ashkelon and against the seashore?

There He has appointed it.”

Micah 6:9 (NKJV)

⁹ The Lord’s voice cries to the city—

Wisdom shall see Your name:

“Hear the rod!

Who has appointed it?

Luke 11:33-36

Our faith is shown to others by our actions. If we gossip and bring up the sins of the past… it is wrong. Forgiveness of others and ourselves  is one of the first steps to grow in the spirit. Ask for help from the only One who can change our  thinking…The dear Holy Spirit. He will teach us and guide us into the new life we now live in Christ.The little foxes can spoil the vine...don't let them!

Let the light that is in you shine through you!

Light and darkness are often used as metaphors for the spiritual condition. Faithlife Bible.

A person can become like light, a living picture of what God’s Word teaches, by concentrating on the light of the truth. NKJ Bible.

Luke 11:33–36 (NKJV)

³³ “No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light. ³⁴ The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. ³⁵ Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. ³⁶ If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.”

Matthew 6:22 (NKJV)

²²  “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.

Matthew 6:23 (NKJV)

²³ But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

John 8:10-11

Jesus seeks followers of His Word who through contrite repentance strive to do His will and not theirs. We are all sinners. All of us. Since each sin carries equal weight no one is immune to the cause and effect of it in their life. We all fall short. 

Our only hope is that the Christ which lives within each believer transforms us daily more and more into His image. We will learn all the lessons necessary to allow this transformation if we seek him.  GOD doesn’t want anyone to perish. his desire is for all of his creation to have the opportunity to choose him, through the salvation of jesus christ…and be with him always.

contrite | kənˈtrīt, ˈkäntrīt |

adjective

feeling or expressing remorse or penitence; affected by guilt: a broken and a contrite heart.contrite

Christ within is our only hope.

Jesus forgave her. He did not condemn her, but neither did He condone her sin.NKJ Bible..

John 8:10–11 (NKJV)

¹⁰ When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”

¹¹ She said, “No one, Lord.”

And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

John 3:17 (NKJV)

¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

Habakkuk 2:4

God will lift up the man who humbles himself before Him and places his life in His hands but He will destroy the proud man who takes credit for what the Lord has done. Without Jesus we are nothing but a vapor. 
God hates pride and arrogance. 
The soul of the haughty Babylonians is not right in God’s eyes. They will soon experience divine judgment. Faithlife Bible.

The proud refers to the Babylonians, who exalted themselves and boasted of their conquests and power. True righteousness before God is linked to genuine faith in God. A proud person relies on self, power, position, and accomplishment; a righteous person relies on the Lord. NKJ Bible.

Habakkuk 2:4 (NKJV)

⁴ “Behold the proud,

His soul is not upright in him;

But the just shall live by his faith.

Galatians 3:11 (NKJV)

¹¹ But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.”

Romans 1:17 (NKJV)

¹⁷ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

Luke 17:1-5

In the times that we are living in offense is a daily thing. Woe to those who hurt and abuse children and those who cannot defend themselves. God will judge them.

We do not have the right to withhold forgiveness from those who ask for it with a contrite and repentant heart. what would be  impossible to do on our own with God is possible. 

Lord, increase our faith.

Jesus advocates for forgiving as a response to divine forgiveness. Faithlife Bible.

Jesus warned that judgment awaits those who cause others to stumble. NKJ Bible.

offend (Gk. skandalizō) (17:2; Matt. 5:29; 13:21; John 6:61; 1 Cor. 8:13) Strong’s #4624: The word is the verb form of a Greek noun that means “stumbling block” or “snare.” The term refers to the trigger which springs a trap. In the NT it means anything that hinders someone from doing what is right or causes one to sin or fall away from the faith. Jesus emphatically warns that stumbling blocks are sure to come our way. Nonetheless, He condemned those who put stumbling blocks in the way of believers. He says that death by drowning would be preferable to offending “one of these little ones” in the faith.

Luke 17:1–5 (NKJV)

17 Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! ² It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. ³ Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. ⁴ And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

⁵ And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”

Mark 9:42 (NKJV)

⁴² “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea.

Luke 18:35-43

Consistent time spent in the WORD while allowing the HOLY SPIRIT to guide and direct you increases your faith. Since faith alone pleases the FATHER He will keep you in perfect peace until He comes again. The triune Godhead is kind and merciful and wants no one to perish…not one person! Seek him and you will find him.

Trust Him to get you where you cannot go yourself!

Jesus again cites someone’s faith in relation to healing. Jesus heals through the power of the Holy Spirit… mentally, physically and most importantly spiritually.

Note the irony in this verse. The blind man recognized who Jesus was, the Son of David, more clearly than many people who were blessed with physical sight. The blind man’s cry for mercy demonstrated his belief that Jesus had the power to heal him.The gracious work of God led to praise, not only from the one who was blessed but also from those who saw the blessing. NKJ Bible.

Luke 18:35–43 (NKJV)

³⁵ Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging. ³⁶ And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant. ³⁷ So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. ³⁸ And he cried out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

³⁹ Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁰ So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, ⁴¹ saying, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

He said, “Lord, that I may receive my sight.”

⁴² Then Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.” ⁴³ And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

Mark 2:21-22

A new life with a new dedication requires a shift in our attitudes and our surroundings. God will give us a new heart and a new purpose in life. He will take out the things that separate us from Him replacing the old with the newness of life in Him. The Holy Spirit takes the Word of God and makes it alive in our ordinary everyday life. Our normal way of handlings things no longer works. Jesus ushered in the new with shouts of grace and mercy and left us with the only one who could bring the change into fruition…the Holy Spirit.

We cannot live in the past and be present in our future.

Jesus emphasizes the change brought about by the kingdom’s arrival. While the previous analogy contrasted present and future, this verse distinguishes between old and new. Faithlife Bible.

Mark records only four of Jesus’ parables—two of which he includes here. The comparison implies that the newness of His message, and of the new covenant to follow, cannot fit into the old molds of Judaism. The OT was preparation for the NT. NKJ Bible.

αἴρει τὸ πλήρωμα τὸ καινὸν τοῦ παλαιοῦ) This reading is a mean between extremes, brief, and likely to be genuine.[22] The meaning is: the new piece put in to patch up the rent, takes away with it some of the old cloth. [22] Aδ, later Syr., whom Tischend.

The meaning of the words is this: An old garment, if it be torn, should be mended by a patch of old material; for if a patch of new material is used, its strength or fullness takes away from the old garment to which it is sewn; the old and the new do not agree, the new drags the old and tears it, and so a worse rent is made.

Mark 2:21–22 (NKJV)

²¹ No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse. ²² And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins.”

Matthew 9:16–17 (NKJV)

¹⁶ No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse. ¹⁷ Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

Luke 5:36–38 (NKJV)

³⁶ Then He spoke a parable to them: “No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old. ³⁷ And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined. ³⁸ But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved.